Latest FSO (099/25) – Wide Body and Narrow Body Vacancies
By now, most pilots will have seen the latest FSO (099/25), which contains a significant number of promotional opportunities for Jetstar pilots, including:
- 28 Narrow Body Command vacancies
- 5 Wide Body Command vacancies
- 56 Narrow Body First Officer vacancies
- 4 Wide Body First Officer vacancies
- 6 Second Officer vacancies
To ensure these Narrow Body Command positions are filled internally by existing Jetstar pilots, a buffer of 50 hours has been applied to the minimum criteria (4000 total flying hours and or 1500 Jetstar FO hours or equivalent). The 50 hour projection applies to the flying hours that pilots legally declare during the FSO advertising period and is intended to capture pilots who are very close to meeting the hour requirements and expand the pool of eligible candidates to fill the advertised commands internally.
Additionally, Jetstar has confirmed that it will consider bids from Wide Body First Officers who are currently within a freeze period for any advertised or consequential Narrow Body Command unfilled vacancies.
Consistent with previous FSOs where WB FO freezes have been waived, NB command allocations will be processed in two stages:
- Stage One – All bids for Narrow Body Command (including those that the 50 flying hours projection applies) will be processed in seniority order, excluding any currently frozen Wide Body First Officers (who remain frozen for a set period after electing to transfer to WB).
- Stage Two – If any advertised or consequential NB Command vacancies remain unfilled, Jetstar may then exercise discretion to unfreeze WB FOs and process their bids in seniority order.
While Jetstar has previously exercised discretion to unfreeze and award NB FO vacancies to frozen Wide Body Second Officers, that occurred only when 2–3 months remained on their freeze. The current cohort of frozen WB SOs are not due to be released until December, and Jetstar has advised they will not be released for any advertised or consequential NB vacancies in this FSO.
We strongly encourage all pilots who are interested in a Narrow Body Command—and who meet (or are within 50 hours) of the eligibility criteria in OM1 4.26.2 to submit a bid and complete the Tech Crew Hours Declaration Form to confirm their flying hours.
We acknowledge Jetstar’s efforts to prioritise existing pilots for command opportunities by forecasting hours for the minimum eligibility criteria and waiving WB FO freezes. However, the Chief Pilot has made it clear, both in conversations with the AFAP and communications directly to the pilot group, that if these roles are not filled due to eligible pilots choosing not to bid, they will likely commence a recruitment campaign for the hiring of Direct Entry Captains (DECs), in accordance with clause 27.2.11 of the EA.
We caution eligible pilots with command aspirations not to sit on their hands in the expectation that they can pick and choose the timing of their upgrade. While we hope that more Narrow Body Command opportunities will become available in future FSOs (noting the next FSO will be later this year), this cannot be guaranteed, especially given the current global environment.
As many of us know, aviation is a cyclical industry, and when the music stops, command opportunities can dry up for years.
If you’re eligible - bid. And bid wisely!
REMINDER to Submit a Standing Bid
As of 1600 hours on 23 June 2025 all standing preference bids that have previously been submitted are now deemed invalid.
What does this mean for you?
For a pilot who DOES NOT want to move Base, Rank or Fleet:
Don’t do anything, NO bid = No move
For a pilot who WANTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A VACANCY, including any consequential vacancies.
- You are required to number those boxes in order of preference including your current position.
- Example 1 - A current CAPT MEL A320 who wants a CAPT MEL B787 would preference - 1. CAPT MEL WB and 2. CAPT MEL NB.
- Example 2 – A current CAPT MEL A320 who wants any CAPT B787 position (trying to stay close to MEL) would preference. 1. CAPT MEL B787, 2. CAPT SYD B787, 3. CAPT SEQ B787, 4. CAPT CNS B787 and 5. CAPT MEL A320.
Pilot Standing Preference Form (23 June 2025) can be located via the link in the FSO here.
If submitting a preference for a promotion to Narrow Body Captain please note you MUST complete the hour submission form to confirm your flying hours to be considered for promotion. Pilots who do not complete this form will not have their bids considered.
MOU Vacancies
The Company advise that they have received 6 applications for the recent MOU Expression of Interest from Eligible Jetstar pilots. There were also 7 other pilots who applied however these do not meet the eligibility requirements of the MOU.
Eligible Jetstar pilot means an employee whose name is included on the Jetstar Seniority List as at the day that this MOU comes into effect and is continuously employed with Jetstar from that day until being appointed to a position with Qantas under clause 11 of this MOU.
To be an eligible pilot your start date at Jetstar must be prior to November 2004.
AFAP Payroll Deduction Now Available to Jetstar Pilots
We are pleased to confirm that AFAP payroll deduction will be available to Jetstar pilots from the July 2025 pay period.
Members who wish to switch to payroll deduction as their preferred method of payment can do so by completing the AFAP Subscription Deduction Authorisation Form, available on the Jetstar JEN here.
Alternatively pilots can access the form on the Jen via JEN/‘Pilots’ page/ Forms (under ‘Employment’ subheading) / AFAP Subscription Deduction Authorisation Form (under Payroll/Accounts’ subheading)
This form authorises Jetstar to deduct AFAP membership fees directly from a pilot’s post-tax base salary each month, with the funds remitted to the AFAP to cover your membership subscription. This arrangement, already in place at several other airlines including Qantas, Virgin, and QantasLink, offers a convenient alternative to quarterly or annual payments and is preferred by many members.
To be included in the initial July 2025 pay run (scheduled around 15 July), the completed form must be submitted via the JEN no later than Friday 4 July 2025.
If you have already paid a portion of your 2025/26 AFAP subscription and would like to transition to payroll deduction immediately, please contact AFAP Finance Officer Lennie Kovac via:
Lennie can assist with the transition and arrange any applicable refund.
Dash (‘- - -‘) Days
The AFAP has followed up with Jetstar regarding recent instances where Dash days (‘---’) were assigned to pilots who had been displaced from rostered duties.
Jetstar has confirmed the following actions:
- Crewing will no longer publish Dash days on pilot rosters.
- All UCT (Uncontactable) entries will be removed from affected rosters.
Additionally, the JPF sought clarification and received confirmation that if a Dash day does appear on a pilot’s roster in the future, the pilot will not be considered contactable on that day.
Your pilot representatives are on hand if you have any questions regarding above.
Alternatively, you can contact your AFAP industrial officers Deanna Cain, Pat Larkins or Andrew Molnar via email deanna@afap.org.au, patrick@afap.org.au, or andrew@afap.org.au or call (03) 9928 5737.
Regards,
AFAP Jetstar Pilot Federation Committee
Andrew Ward, Ben Bollen, Chris Gibson, Christo Hailes, Clinton Baxter, Daniel Blakemore, Darren Fielder, Darren Davis, Dominic Corcoran, Ed Greenidge, Jake Gainger, Jordan Moras, Mick Dwyer, Paul Hogan and Raj Krishnan